Caffeine effects on several indices of cardiovascular activity at rest and during stress

The effects of caffeine on cardiovascular responses to a mental arithmetic task were assessed using a between-subjects, double-blind design. Thirty-six male undergraduates were randomly assigned to either a placebo group or a group which received 250mg of caffeine. Repeated measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), heart rate (HR), digital blood volume pulse (DBVP), and finger pulse transit time (FPTT) were obtained during a predrug baseline, a postdrug resting period, and a mental arithmetic task. Significant Period (i.e., stress) effects were observed on all measures, except DBVP which revealed a marginally significant Period effect. Significant main effects of Drug were observed on DBP and DBVP. There were no significant Drug x Period interactions. These results indicate that the increases in DBP and the decreases in DBVP produced by caffeine were additive with effects produced by stress.